By Edit Team NO 1 The moon was like a silver plate, with stars twinkling all over the sky.
On the peak of the cliff, Xiao Yan was reclining on the grass, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he lightly chewed on it, allowing the faint bitterness to spread through his mouth...
He raised his somewhat pale hand to shield his eyes, gazing at the huge silver moon in the sky through the gaps between his fingers.
"Ah..." Thinking of the afternoon test, Xiao Yan sighed softly and lazily withdrew his hand, resting his head on both hands with a dazed look in his eyes...
"Fifteen years, huh..." The low murmur suddenly escaped the young boy's lips without warning.
In Xiao Yan's heart, there was a secret only he knew: he was not from this world, or rather, Xiao Yan's soul did not belong to this world. He hailed from a blue planet called Earth. As for how he ended up here, he couldn't explain this bizarre experience, but after living here for some time, he realized with hindsight: he had traveled through time and space!
As he grew older, Xiao Yan gained a vague understanding of this continent...
The continent was named Dou Qi Continent, and instead of the various types of magic commonly seen elsewhere, Dou Qi was the sole theme of this continent!
On this continent, the cultivation of Dou Qi had reached its peak through the efforts of countless generations, and as Dou Qi continued to evolve, it even spread to the common people, making Dou Qi indispensable to human daily life. Thus, Dou Qi's importance on the continent became unparalleled!
The extreme proliferation of Dou Qi also led to the differentiation of countless methods for cultivating Dou Qi. As one's fingers are not all of the same length, the methods for cultivating Dou Qi naturally varied in strength.
Through induction and statistics, the Dou Qi Continent classified Dou Qi techniques into four tiers and twelve levels: Heaven, Earth, Mystery, and Yellow, with each tier further divided into early, middle, and late stages!
The level of the Dou Qi technique one cultivated was also the key to determining one's future achievements. For example, someone cultivating a mid-level Mystery-tier technique would naturally be stronger than someone of the same level cultivating a high-level Yellow-tier technique.
Strength on the Dou Qi Continent was determined by three conditions.
First and foremost, of course, was one's own strength. If one's strength was only at the level of a one-star Dou Zhe, even if you were cultivating a rare Heaven-tier high-level technique, it would be difficult to defeat a Dou Shi cultivating a Yellow-tier technique.
The second was the technique itself! Among equals, if your technique was much higher in level than your opponent's, then during a competition, the advantages would be immediately apparent.
The last was called Dou Ji!
As the name suggests, this was a special skill for wielding Dou Qi. Dou Ji also had levels on the continent, generally divided into the same four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mystery, and Yellow.
There were countless Dou Ji on the Dou Qi Continent, but most of the commonly circulating Dou Ji were only around the Yellow level. To obtain higher-level Dou Ji, one must join a sect or the Dou Qi Academy on the continent.
Of course, some people might obtain legacy techniques from previous generations through extraordinary encounters or have their own matching Dou Ji. These Dou Ji, derived from techniques and used in conjunction, were even more powerful.
Relying on these three conditions, one could determine who was stronger. In general, if one could possess a higher-level Dou Qi technique, the benefits for the future were self-evident...
However, high-level Dou Qi cultivation techniques were difficult for ordinary people to obtain. The techniques circulating among the common people were mostly only Yellow-tier techniques. Some stronger families or small-to-medium-sized sects might possess Mystery-tier cultivation techniques. For example, the highest-level technique in Xiao Yan's family was "Furious Lion's Rage," a wind-attributed and mid-level Mystery-tier Dou Qi technique that only the clan leader was eligible to cultivate.
Above the Mystery tier was the Earth tier, but such profound techniques might only be possessed by influential forces or great empires...
As for the Heaven tier... it hadn't appeared for hundreds of years.
In theory, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to obtain high-level techniques. However, there were exceptions. The Dou Qi Continent was vast, with numerous ethnic groups. In the north of the continent were the Barbarians, known for their immense strength and the ability to merge with beast souls. In the south were families of highly intelligent high-level magical beasts, as well as the infamous Dark Races known for their cunning and cruelty, and so on...
Due to the vastness of the land, there were also many unknown recluses. At the end of their lives, these lonely individuals might hide the techniques they created somewhere, waiting for someone with a destiny to find them. On the Dou Qi Continent, there was a saying: "If you fall into a cliff and land in a cave, don't panic. Take a few steps forward, and perhaps you will become a powerful warrior!"
This saying was not false. In the nearly thousand-year history of the continent, there were many stories of people becoming powerful warriors through extraordinary encounters.
The consequence of this story was that it created a large group of people who waited at the edge of cliffs every day, dreaming of jumping and obtaining legendary techniques. Of course, most of these people returned with broken arms and legs...
In summary, this was a continent full of miracles and those who created them!
Of course, to cultivate Dou Qi secrets, one must first become a true Dou Zhe, which seemed still far away for Xiao Yan at present...
"Spit." After spitting out the grass root in his mouth, Xiao Yan suddenly jumped up, his face distorted, roaring at the night sky in a fit of madness, "What the hell! Did you bring me here to play as a waste? Damn it!"
In his previous life, Xiao Yan was just an extremely ordinary person among the multitude. Money and beauty were parallel lines that never intersected with him. However, when he came to this Dou Qi Continent, Xiao Yan was pleasantly surprised to find that due to his two lifetimes of experience, his soul was much stronger than ordinary people!
On the Dou Qi Continent, the soul was innate, and it might become slightly stronger as one aged, but there was no technique that could solely cultivate the soul, even Heaven-tier techniques were impossible! This was common knowledge on the Dou Qi Continent.
The strengthening of the soul also created Xiao Yan's cultivation talent and made him a prodigy.
When an ordinary and mediocre person realizes that they have the potential to become the focus of countless eyes, if they lack sufficient self-control, it is difficult to maintain their true intentions. Obviously, Xiao Yan, who was just an ordinary person in his previous life, did not possess such self-control. Therefore, after he began cultivating Dou Qi, he chose the path of becoming a prodigy who was the focus of attention rather than growing quietly.
If there were no unexpected occurrences, Xiao Yan might have truly grown up under the title of a prodigy. Unfortunately, at the age of eleven, his title as a prodigy was gradually stripped away by a sudden change, and the prodigy fell into disgrace, becoming the laughingstock of the people in just one night!
...
After roaring for a while, Xiao Yan's emotions gradually calmed down, and his face returned to its usual loneliness. No matter how furious he was, he could not recover the Dou Qi vortex he had worked hard to cultivate.
Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Xiao Yan actually felt somewhat委屈, as he didn't know what had happened to his body. After examining it, he found nothing wrong. His soul became stronger as he aged, and his speed of absorbing Dou Qi was even faster than it was at its peak a few years ago. These conditions all indicated that his talent had never decreased, but the Dou Qi that entered his body disappeared cleanly without exception. This mysterious situation made Xiao Yan deeply saddened.
With a黯然的 sigh, Xiao Yan raised his hand. On his finger was a black ring. The ring was very simple and made of unknown material, with some faint patterns drawn on it. This was the only gift his mother gave him before she died. He had worn it for ten years since he was four years old. As his mother's遗物, Xiao Yan had a deep attachment to it. His fingers gently touched the ring, and Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile, "These past few years have really let down my mother's expectations..."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan suddenly turned his head and smiled warmly at the dark forest, "Father, you're here."
Although Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was only at the third stage, his soul perception was much sharper than that of a five-star Dou Zhe. When he mentioned his mother earlier, he sensed a movement in the forest.
"Hehe, Yan Er, why are you still up here so late?" A concerned male laugh came out of the forest after a moment of silence.
The branches swayed, and a middle-aged man jumped out, smiling as he stared at his son standing in the moonlight.
The middle-aged man wore luxurious gray clothes, and his walk was quite majestic.
"Who's the honored guest?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Xiao Zhan winked at Xiao Yan and laughed as he left, leaving Xiao Yan helpless.
"Don't worry, Father. I'll do my best!" Xiao Yan murmured as he stroked the ancient ring on his finger.
At the moment Xiao Yan looked up, a faint, eerie glow suddenly lit up the black ancient ring on his finger. The glow disappeared in the blink of an eye, unnoticed by anyone...